The Best Man (Blue Heron #1)(77)

At the top of the ridge, a field served as a parking lot. Rock walls divided it up, the walls looking as if they’d been there forever, though Levi was pretty sure they were new.

“Levi, hey!” Jeremy approached from the field. Living next door, he must’ve walked over.

“Hey, Jer. How’s it going?”

“Very well, my friend. How are you?”

Levi had heard from Emmaline that Faith and Jeremy had been at O’Rourke’s the other night, laughing it up. The news had caused a ping of jealousy to echo through him. Which was stupid, of course. The two of them had a history. Everyone knew that.

Didn’t stop that pinging, though.

People were streaming toward a path flanked by two maple trees, which were lit from the bottom by small spotlights, casting the yellow leaves in a warm, golden light. The path was wide, a stone wall running along one side, little copper lamps lighting the way. A wood thrush called, and farther away, an owl hooted. Somewhere in the distance was the sound of rushing water.

Suddenly, Levi recognized where they were. He’d been here before. Twelve years ago, he and Faith had eaten lunch about a hundred yards from here, over by the waterfall.

“Have you ever been out here?” Jeremy asked like a fricking psychic or something. “There’s a nice place to swim.”

Ah. So Jeremy had been here, too. Well, sure. He was the one who dated Faith. “I don’t know. Maybe,” he said. Then they rounded a slight curve in the path, and both men stopped.

“Wow,” Jeremy breathed.

The structure in front of them was both modern and old—the old stone barn, topped with a clear-paneled roof, glowing from the soft lights inside. All around, trees had been lit from below—white birch and silver maple, beech and hickory. There were flower beds, but it wasn’t fussy or precise; it was kind of...magical. Like something out of a fairy tale.

“Levi, Jeremy! So glad you could come!” John Holland greeted them at the big barn door, which was lit with copper lanterns. Two women flanked him; one in what appeared to be a brown paper bag; the other in, ouch, best not to look. Right. Lorena Creech, who’d been sniffing around Faith’s father in recent weeks. “Come on in, see what our Faith has done. Phyllis! How are you! The walk wasn’t too bad, was it?”

“This is unbelievable,” Jeremy said as they went through the barn doors.

Inside was quite possibly even prettier. Lamps made from Blue Heron wine bottles had been fastened to the stone with iron brackets. More wine bottles, the necks cut off, sat on the tables, filled with what looked like wildflowers. People milled about, pointing and exclaiming.

The far wall of the barn was missing, and a two-level deck cantilevered out over the hill. There were more tables out there, and people admired the view, which stretched out past the lighted trees, over the fields and all the way to the lake.

“Levi! I clocked a speeder going past my house at sixty-two miles an hour,” barked Mrs. Nebbins, who owned her own radar gun and phoned him about three times a week. “When are you going to set up a speed trap on my road?”

“I was out there yesterday,” Levi said.

“Well, you need to give more tickets. Or maybe put out some spikes. That’d slow people down, let me tell you.”

“Phyllis, you just get more beautiful, if that’s possible,” Jeremy murmured, kissing her cheek.

“Oh, Jeremy, you liar!” she said. “Have you seen Faith? Is it hard? Is she still in love with you? She probably is, poor thing. Listen, my knee is out of whack, and those exercises you gave me didn’t work, so I stopped doing them.”

“Really? How long did you do them?”

“Two days.”

“That’s just insulting,” he said. “Come on, complain away, I’ve got all night. But I want to see that deck.” He escorted the crotchety old lady away, grinning over his shoulder at Levi. Too bad the guy was g*y. He was so good with women.

Levi got a glass of seltzer water and wandered around. The barn smelled of freshly cut wood, grass and food. Lorelei from the bakery was putting some flowers on top of a chocolate cake; she waved and smiled. Colleen manned the bar, which was made from stone and topped with a huge slab of wood. Suzette Minor, she of the mysterious noises and slutty nightgowns, gave him the eye from over the rim of her wineglass. Where was Gerard? Last he heard, they were seeing each other. Levi nodded, turned and bumped into Faith.

“Hey,” he said, grabbing her arms to steady her. Her skin was cool and smooth.

She blushed, the color rising from the neckline of her red (have mercy) dress, up her throat and into her face. “Levi,” she murmured.

Her hair was up tonight, and long gold earrings swung from her ears. As she looked at him, she bit her lower lip, and the action sent a jolt of electricity straight to his groin.

“Hi.” He realized he was still holding on to her and let go. “Haven’t seen you around.”

“No.”

The air seemed to thicken and pulse between them. There was that smell of warm cake, and, not for the first time, Levi had a sudden image of doing Faith against the wall.

“Faith! Your grandfather just spilled his drink on me,” Mrs. Holland said, breaking the moment. “And have you seen that Lorena? The outfit! Doesn’t she have a mirror? Oh, hello, Levi, sweetheart. Faith, do you have something to blot me?”